When Peace Falls
by Sasha Vane
Summary: He wasn't what she wanted. She wasn't what he wanted. What did one do when their place had been lost? In a world ever-changing, both Kagome and Sesshomaru have lost their purpose. But what they have in common is far more than they think, leading them on a path they never would have thought they'd travel after the death of Naraku.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is the first fanfic I've ever written, so this should be fun. Rating for adult themes and language. No triggers but there is a good bit of angst before the happy parts, so you've been warned. It also has not seen a beta. _

_Currently this is a one-shot only, but if I get inspired or something by a sudden idea or review, I may continue it with another one-shot or something. Oh and this is post-canon, with what I believe to be a realistic portrayal of how our two lovely persons might find their paths crossing again—and Sesshomaru's a bit of a mix between his manga and anime personalities. He's sarcastic, snarky, but reserved in terms of letting people close._

_And I think it's a bit silly to go on and on about how I don't own anything because, really, isn't that the whole point of fanfiction?_

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He wasn't what she wanted.

She stood beneath the Goshinboku, her hand absently reaching up to stroke the bark where Kikyo's arrow had pierced InuYasha's chest—the same arrow her own reincarnation had removed when Kagome had been dragged forcefully from her own time.

Somehow, she'd always thought she'd be with him. She'd loved him the entire time she'd traveled with him . . . and she loved him the long three years she'd been away finishing school. When she'd returned from the future back to the Warring States Era, like everyone else she thought she'd marry InuYasha and build her life with him together.

It wasn't that she'd stopped loving him. She still loved him and she didn't think that would ever change, but more and more often she was getting the feeling that this wasn't right. She'd changed in the time she'd been gone . . . and so had he.

She was happy that InuYasha was beginning to settle down, taking his work with Miroku seriously even though he was constantly bored with the lack of challenge the lesser yokai they faced presented. In fact, InuYasha seemed to be thriving amongst the villagers, living with Kaede and taking up a sort of village protector and leadership role—one that no doubt would make the transition easier once Kaede passed.

The others, too, had made their own lives. Shippo was gone training, as was Kohaku. Rin was learning herself again on how to be a human girl with Kaede. Sango had three children of her own with Miroku to care for, and now InuYasha was often gone for days at a time trying to ensure their village and the villages around it were safe if he wasn't off working with Miroku in neighboring villages.

But the more things seemed peaceful here, the more Kagome missed the days of Naraku. The Shikon jewel was on, there was nothing to draw trouble here even for Kagome, and her training and herbs were no longer used for anything but farming mishaps and the occasional wound from an overexuberant child.

In short, Kagome felt unneeded. She had no purpose, and it left her feeling antsy with the need to roam, with the need to try to find something better. Kagome needed to be needed, even if it was just for her shard-detecting or purifying capabilities. She wanted someone to want her, need her, so she could feel like she actually belonged.

She sighed as she sank down onto the soil beneath the tree, uncaring if her own pristine red and white clothing was stained. Washing it later, after all, would at least give her something to do.

Was it so wrong for her to want more? She felt guilty for missing the Shikon and Naraku, for wanting more than what her friends could give her, and for thinking about leaving them and their lives here, but she couldn't seem to help herself. She wanted everyone to be happy, but somehow their happiness seemed to be taking root without her own, and without her realizing it, three years had gone by since she'd returned from the future. Three years, yet nothing had changed.

"Goshinboku has seen much in its life, Kagome, but ye do not seem to find comfort with it these days."

Kagome didn't bother to look up from where she was drawing circles into the dirt with a nearby stick she'd been fidgeting with, knowing she would find Kaede hobbling slowly over to her. "Is it wrong?" she finally asked when Kaede didn't speak up, leaving Kaede confused at her cryptic words. "I feel like I'm betraying everyone, even an old tree."

"What is bothering you these past moons, Kagome? Ye were happy when ye first arrived." Kaede slowly lowered herself to the ground to sit next to her pupil, wondering to herself if perhaps she'd been right in training both Kagome and Rin. She'd always figured the former would stay to care for the villagers while the latter would leave, but as time drew on, Rin was the one becoming more and more situated in village life and her own priestess abilities while Kagome seemed to be the one growing more and more restless.

"I was happy at first." Kagome sighed, plucking at her sleeve as she felt increasingly miserable. Once she'd started to answer Kaede, the words just seemed to drop right out of her mouth. "But I'm not anymore. I wanted to be happy here, but all I can think about is everybody seems to have a purpose here but me! It's like being back home all over again and I'm still intruding on everyone's lives. The whole world's going on without me and I'm sitting here beneath the only other thing in this village besides me that won't age and die like everyone else! I keep feeling like I don't belong here anymore, Kaede-sensei, and that feeling isn't going away no matter how hard I try!"

Kaede paused, muddling her way through Kagome's words. She'd heard what had happened with Kagome and the yokai who'd devoured the celestial maiden, but only Kagome and Miroku had been convinced of the yokai's words. Admittedly, Kagome had not aged much since her return aside from a slight maturing of her features, but the girl had already admitted that people aged more slowly in her time so Kaede hadn't thought much about it. Kaede had finally concluded that if there had been a lack of aging, it was due to the Shikon—which was now gone, freeing Kagome to live her own life normally as a human girl the way her previous incarnation had always wanted.

"Kagome, perhaps ye need some time away from the village. Have ye asked InuYasha about traveling with him next time he leaves?" Kaede finally offered, hoping to salve the girl's restlessness. InuYasha was the only one who knew of Kagome's own time and Kaede hoped that he could help the girl settle into her chosen time with more ease.

"He says it's too dangerous," Kagome paused to wipe at her face, disturbed at the mixture of sweat and tears she hadn't realized had formed, "which doesn't make any sense because we're both more powerful than we were before. Besides, the only demon with any strength left around here is Sesshomaru and he's too busy running his own lands to even bother bugging InuYasha anymore!"

"Child, perhaps InuYasha is just afraid ye might leave him again." Kaede shifted, suddenly feeling as though her ominous words might well end up as a prediction. She opened her mouth to say more but Rin's voice began calling for her to hurry for the sake of the baby. Another woman in the village was having a baby and Kaede still wasn't sure Rin knew enough to assist the woman on her own. "Forgive me, Kagome. Ye just rest for today. Rin and I will handle the birth."

Kaede stood with Kagome's help and hobbled after Rin, who'd already taken off in the direction of the woman's hut. Rin's time in the village hadn't tempered her active nature or tendencies to run off, it seemed, no matter how long it'd been since she'd traveled with Lord Sesshomaru.

"What if I did leave? Would that really be so bad?" Kagome's whispered words hung in the air long after Kaede had left, but no one else was around to hear them.

.

Sesshomaru growled, glaring at the pile of scrolls and missives that had piled up in his absence during his hunt for Naraku—and continued to pile up ever since his return to his own lands. No one, it seemed, had been intelligent enough to do their damn jobs in his absence, and he was growing increasingly frustrated with how long it was taking to finish theirs so he could finish his own. Jaken was of little use, for the little demon was too busy pestering servants with tales of their great lord's many successes whilst he'd been away for the annoying demon to do much of anything else.

Though, Sesshomaru supposed, besides the endless missives there wasn't much left for him to do. After learning of his pivotal role in destroying the hanyo Naraku, most of the other demons had given him a wide berth. No one bothered challenging his rule whatsoever, including the other lords in the south, east, and north. Out of boredom, he'd had his men encroach on one of the other lord's lands hoping to spark a little skirmish, but before Sesshomaru could even engage the Southern Lord's men, the other lord had simply sent him a messenger saying that Sesshomaru was more than welcome to the thick valley Sesshomaru had attempted to claim.

What was the point in trying to conquer the lands around him if it was just going to be gifted to him?

He barred his fangs, wishing someone would be stupid enough to challenge him for his own lands just so he'd have something interesting to do. Too bad Naraku had tried to assimilate any demons worth their strength, leaving the stronger yokai or daiyokai to either retreat or be killed, and Sesshomaru had the feeling it would be a few decades before any yokai with strength would be openly moving about his lands again. Even his own court here was terrified of him, and he suspected they'd agree with anything he said just to avoid enduring his presence for any length of time.

His claws drummed against his desk in irritation. As much as he'd detested the hanyo that had thought to possess and control him, Sesshomaru found himself looking back to those days. Though neither the hanyo nor his own hanyo half-brother had been any real challenge, at least they'd been amusing enough to entertain him through their encounters.

He shifted, running a hand over his mokomoko as he thought. Perhaps when he finished his own work he'd travel to the village to see Rin and try to goad the hanyo into a fight. It would at least give him a brief distraction from the monotony his life had become.

.

"Oi, Sesshomaru, 'bout damn time you showed up here." InuYasha didn't bother moving for their father's fang. Instead, he just shoved his hands into his sleeves as if Sesshomaru wasn't even worth the time to fight and glared up at the tree limb he was standing on to his half-brother's cloud. "Fucking bastard. Rin's been asking about you a lot lately. Do yah even know how fucking long it's been since you showed your ugly face around here?"

Sesshomaru, however, was not willing to give up his entertainment just yet. It was, after all, his motivation for finishing his work as quickly as he had. "InuYasha," he greeted his brother. "I must admit that the care you've extended to this one's ward is quite . . . involved. This one is surprised your mate allows it . . . or is it that you intend to take after our esteemed father and procure an additional mate? Are you so deluded that you believe your diluted blood is strong enough to attempt such a thing?"

Instead of the usual rage he'd come to expect from his half-brother, InuYasha stared at his bare feet and Sesshomaru's eyes widened when he noted the sudden blush on his brother's face.

"Keh. Rin's just a kid, yah sick bastard. How can yah say something like that about your own ward?"

It wasn't the reaction he was looking for, but at least it was something. Perhaps if he just continued in this direction, he'd get what he'd come for. "This Sesshomaru was made aware by Kaede that this one's ward started her menses before your mate arrived."

"Keh. I ain't mated Kagome." InuYasha didn't elaborate further, but Sesshomaru was suddenly curious. The last and only encounter he'd had with the priestess since her return had suggested that she'd already mated with his brother.

He lowered his cloud just enough to get a whiff of his brother to ascertain the truth of his brother's words himself. His eyes widened slightly when he noted that his brother not only lacked the priestess' scent, but it also smelt more clean and groomed than usual, as if the hanyo was attempting to impress someone. Worse, he could smell his own ward's lingering scent and the faint scent of desire, suggesting she'd been with the hanyo previously, and suddenly his comment earlier about InuYasha mating his ward seemed far more tangible.

"You are courting this one's ward," Sesshomaru stated, confident in his conclusion. "You intend to mate Rin."

"It ain't that serious, fucker. She's just been lonely. Time passes differently for humans and she's been waiting here alone for you to visit again. That's all. Keh. Besides she's still too young for anyone to mate." InuYasha shoved his hands further into his sleeve, looking increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Hnn. This one has been busy." Sesshomaru was reluctant to continue, but he wasn't willing to give up eliciting a reaction from his brother yet. Another scent, further beyond his brother, reached his nose, followed by yet another, and he grinned slightly in recognition. Perhaps this would give him the satisfaction he craved. "Admit the truth, hanyo. This one scented your desire for her and hers for you. You would have this one's ward for your mate and there is nothing holding you back, since you no longer desire to mate the priestess."

"What the fuck, Sesshomaru!" InuYasha suddenly exploded and Sesshomaru's eyes closed partially in pleasure as he finally got his anticipated reaction. "Why do you care so much? Not that it's any business of yours, bastard, but I ain't right for Kagome and I know that! We'll both always think of Kikyo and that ain't fair to her! I don't fucking deserve her, okay?"

InuYasha huffed as he tried to calm himself down. He wasn't going to lose his cool over something he couldn't change, anyway, and he had to try and keep his own blood in check. He'd spoken only of the truth, but Sesshomaru had no reason to know just how much more was going on in his half-brother's mind.

"So you decided that Rin was an appropriate second choice? Or should I say third, given the priestess and her reincarnation?"

Sesshomaru's taunt nearly sent InuYasha over the edge again with the insinuation that InuYasha was once again abandoning Kagome for another priestess—though this one wasn't her previous incarnation. Sesshomaru had hit a nerve, and InuYasha figured he was doing it just to keep Rin away from the hanyo half-brother he saw as worthless. Bitterly, he felt the words rising up as he finally acknowledged Sesshomaru's insinuation and, for once, allowed the full truth to drop from his lips without any thought of ramification or the people he could hurt.

"What the fuck are you suggesting, Sesshomaru? That I'm picking Rin because I can't have Kagome? You fucking bastard! It ain't like that at all! Rin's somethin' special, okay, and if I wasn't so worried about the kids we might have or how the villagers would treat her I'd be honored to mate her! She deserves better than some hanyo the villagers barely tolerate or kids who can't control their demon sides and I know that too!" InuYasha struck at the tree with his claws in frustration, and Sesshomaru barely hid a sigh when InuYasha yet again deprived him of yet another chance to fight. It would have been far more worthwhile if the hanyo had turned on him instead of the tree, but it seemed the hanyo was determined to deprive Sesshomaru of what he was due.

"You should have told me, InuYasha."

InuYasha flinched as he glanced down at the ground to see both Kagome and Rin, dressed in their priestess garb and looking as though they'd run out here in the forest looking for him. Guilt washed over him as he realized Kaede must have sent them looking for him, and instead of being in the village where he was needed he was out here, arguing with his own half-brother over issues that would no doubt hurt both of the women he'd grown to care about.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," InuYasha finally said, glancing away from both of them in shame. "I didn't know how. You came back here for me and I was so happy at first, I really was. But the more time I spent with you, the more it didn't feel right. I went off to think a lot and I ran into Rin and we ended up just talking. It was so different being with Rin and it was nice, but then I'd feel guilty when I saw you, and so I'd just go off again. Only when I did, there was Rin and then I realized I was doing it all over again, only this time, it was with Rin instead of Kikyo . . . and I didn't want to hurt you again but I didn't want to hurt her, either."

"I know, InuYasha. I didn't want to hurt you, either." Kagome shifted her weight, feeling equally burdened. "I noticed a while ago that we were growing apart but we had those plans when I'd first came back and I thought it would hurt you and everyone else if we broke them now . . . But I felt so guilty, too, because I didn't love you like I should."

"I'm so sorry, Kagome." InuYasha nearly choked on his words as he stared at Kagome. "And," he added, unable to face Rin and see the pain he knew would be there, "I'm so sorry, Rin. I didn't mean to trouble you."

Sesshomaru hovered there, watching the troubles he'd forced to air with a feeling of malcontent. The tears in both priestesses' eyes only made him more irritable, and he was growing increasingly frustrated with how nothing turned out like he'd anticipated. He should have left, but he couldn't seem to pull his thoughts and emotions together enough to redirect his cloud and he had no desire to ground himself and directly face the troubles he'd caused his ward.

"Rin thinks . . . " Rin stopped and inhaled slowly. "I think that you are one of the most honorable demons I've met. I don't care that you're a hanyo, InuYasha. It never mattered to me. You're as honorable and caring as Lord Sesshomaru and . . . I kept wishing you'd ask me to marry you but I thought you wouldn't because of Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken and Ah-Un and because you thought I was still a kid."

InuYasha jumped down from his tree perch and freed his hands from his robe. "It ain't like that. I was just tryin' to protect you, Rin. You deserve better. Because you're that bastard's ward, you could have anybody—a human lord, a demon, a demon lord even—so there's no need to settle for someone like me who can't even control himself without a stupid sword and some enchanted beads." He kicked at the dirt.

"Kagome removed those beads, remember?" Rin moved closer and slowly pulled one clawed hand in between her own hands. "That shows how much faith she has in you. And Lord Sesshomaru trusted you to keep me safe when he left me in this village, so that shows that he's already accepted you. I don't want anyone else, InuYasha. I think you're the only one who could really understand me and what I've been through."

Kagome stepped back as Rin pulled InuYasha into a hug, feeling as though she was—once again—intruding in her friends' lives. She had a pretty good idea what would happen next, and she definitely had no desire to be around for that. Watching her best friend and the girl she'd seen grow up have sex would no doubt have her eyes nearly bleeding.

Besides, Rin was right. Both Rin and InuYasha had grown up as orphans. Both of them had the same demon lord as a pivotal part of their lives. Both of them had to struggle on their own to survive and rely initially only upon themselves. They had so much in common that Kagome wondered why she'd never seen their relationship developing before today, and suddenly, she felt inherently stupid. Rin was fourteen years old and, for a sixteen-year-old hanyo that had barely aged at all since their battles with Naraku, they were both more than old enough for marriage in this time.

But she couldn't stay there and watch them. She loved them both, just as she loved everyone else in the village, but she couldn't keep staying there and watch their happiness bloom and grow, hearing them have sex at night, seeing Rin give birth to their kids, while she stayed on the fringes alone. With Rin willingly staying behind with InuYasha to serve as priestess and care for the village, Kagome had lost her last little spot in the village. She wanted them to be happy, but she was beginning to realize she needed her own, too.

She turned and headed deeper into the forest, but not before she heard InuYasha whisper his love to yet another woman that wasn't her.

She didn't want InuYasha anymore, but it still broke her heart and severed the last tendrils of the relationship between them. No matter what happened from now on, their relationship would never be the same. There was no going back; they'd made their choices.

.

Like Kagome, Sesshomaru hadn't stuck around to see his half-brother rut and then mate his ward. There were some memories he could do without, and that was definitely at the top of his list.

Instead, he found himself slowly trailing after the priestess, dissipating the cloud and dropping to traverse the ground once he'd moved far enough away from his half-brother and Rin—who was about to become truly related to him through her mating and subsequent marriage.

He followed her only because he'd had nothing better to do and he wasn't ready to return home after his latest disappointment in curing his perpetual boredom. His work was done for now anyway, and he'd missed the feeling of traveling outside with no real destination in mind. Perhaps, when he returned, he'd make a bigger effort to more fully patrol his own lands as his father had once done. At least it would help him find a sense of peace.

For now, though, he would try to work out the restlessness—brought on by boredom and the lack of fulfillment that had followed antagonizing his half-brother—through this aimless travel the priestess ahead seemed to be indulging in.

"Don't you care?"

He stopped in surprise when Kagome's voice called out as she stepped around a tree in front of them. He hadn't realized she sensed he was following, and she'd been quiet enough as he'd trailed along a small distance behind her that he had thought her lost to her own thoughts.

"No," he finally answered, intrigued as to why she was suddenly questioning him about his ward, and why now instead of when he'd first started following her. Perhaps she hadn't noticed him?

How insulting.

"Why not?" Kagome still didn't turn around to face him as she spoke, but he was curious enough that he found he didn't care much about the slight at the moment. He could always rectify the situation later.

"This one had no intentions of mating her."

"So? You hate your half-brother, right? So wouldn't you want her to marry someone else?"

"Rin has already chosen." He was relieved when she started walking again, allowing him the space and time to think before he responded—a luxury he'd missed in his castle.

"So that's it? Rin's chosen and you're okay with that?" Kagome's voice echoed her disbelief.

"Hnn."

They both fell silent after that, to his disappointment. He continued to wander with her, and as time went on her pace fell into step with his so that no one was really following after the other. They were both mutually and aimlessly wandering, and somehow that brought a sense of peace to his mind that he hadn't felt since he was a pup.

Was this why her companions had traveled with Kagome?

He admitted to himself that it was a welcome feeling. The priestess was acting oddly out of character, enough to help shake some of his boredom, and it made him want to latch onto that distraction for as long as it would possibly last him. Even if it was only through the remainder of her short life, it would hopefully be enough to content him.

At the very least, her very presence seemed to offer something nothing else thus far had.

"Priestess." He deliberately called out to her, an idea already forming into his mind.

"Kagome," she corrected automatically, but Kagome didn't really expect him to pay her any attention. He hadn't bothered before with using her name when she'd corrected him—an irritable family trait, she'd noticed—so she figured it wasn't going to be any different now.

"Where do you travel to?"

She blinked at the question. "Nowhere, I guess." She realized immediately how stupid that sounded. She was literally wandering with only the clothes on her back, and yet despite the lack of supplies, she had no real desire to go back to the village to gather any anytime soon. "Why?" she added, curious. Sesshomaru didn't seem like the type to care about her wellbeing, so his question didn't make sense. It seemed entirely out of character for him to care enough to ask anyone anything, rather than demand it, and she was determined to figure out why.

"This one has not wandered since the hanyo died, but it has been missed." His expression didn't change and neither did his tone, leaving her to try to puzzle out his meaning.

"It's nice, isn't it?" She finally settled for a noncommittal answer, deciding that Sesshomaru hadn't really meant much of anything by his words. "You know, walking like this? It kind of soothes the soul."

"Would you travel with this one?"

She gaped at him, slowing her steps to a near-halt once again. "You can't be serious."

"Hnn." He didn't bother answering her as she wanted because that meant repeating himself, and that was something he would be forced to do only with his idiot half-brother and Jaken. The priestess was at least slightly more intelligent than them, so she could figure out what he'd meant herself.

"You _are_ serious!" she finally yelped as he hid a wince at the high pitch. "Look, Sesshomaru, it's nice of you to offer," she ignored his bristling at the word 'nice' and plowed on, "but I might be wandering for a while. I don't know. I'm not like other humans. I won't age. And I have a lot to think through, so it could take longer than you'd think. I doubt you'd want to be stuck with me that long."

He barely hid his surprise at her words. _She wouldn't age?_ It was highly improbable—all things aged. Even demons themselves aged, albeit more slowly. The only creatures that did not were the kami and those they blessed.

If she had indeed been touched by the kami, then she should have had some sort of mark upon her person to signify that she had received such an honor. Yet the girl had run around nearly nude for most of the time she'd spent here, and not once had he noted what would have been such a prominent marking.

Perhaps, then, it was hidden under her clothes, which made him question again her humility. Most humans would have shown off such a mark, yet she did not. That led him to believe either she did not know of the mark, or that she was comfortable showing everything off _but_ the mark, which only served to confuse him further.

If she was indeed marked, then he found himself wondering what would have happened if InuYasha _had _mated the girl instead of his ward. Matings blended the powers and auras of both persons, with the stronger person ending up the dominant of the relationship. It stood to reason that Kagome would have then become the dominant, both by her own pure power as a priestess and this lack of aging—his lip curled slightly in disgust at the thought of his own kin being so totally dominated by a human woman, no matter how powerful—but if Kagome instead had mated someone with equal power? What, then, would happen? Would the gifts be shared, the exchange equal? Would his gifts spread to her as well? Would the exchange strengthen or weaken the two? Would her lack of aging spread to the other partner?

Or, perhaps, would her own limitless lifespan then be limited to share that lifespan with her mate, as happened with most human-yokai matings? Would her limitless humanity affect a yokai in other ways?

"Explain this lack of aging," he demanded, reaching out to grip her arm and pull her to a complete halt.

"It's a long story," Kagome answered, trying in vain to shrug off his grip, "and even then we're still not sure how it happened."

Suddenly, he realized he'd found his entertainment, at least for now, in the puzzle that was Kagome.

"Then, priestess, this one will travel with you until it is figured out."

He expected her to argue as she was wont for doing, but instead she nodded, and he realized then that she'd been as without purpose as he. In helping to alleviate his curiosity, she'd gained a sense of purpose and peace she'd lost with the fall of the hanyo.

"I'd like that," she finally answered, feeling the beginnings of a smile slip across her face—something that hadn't happened in months. "I'd really like that."

She didn't get a verbal response, but the slight relaxation of his posture suggested that he was as content with the situation as she.

.

.

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_A / N: Well, I rather dislike having two in this piece, but in this case, it is necessary. More or less, anyway. This piece was a challenge from a friend, who issued me a challenge to complete that did not have usual tropes. So, the challenge:_

_To write a SessKag canon fanfic where Sesshomaru gains his arms in the normal manner without Kagome returning it to him; Naraku/Kikyo/InuYasha could not in any way be the villain for their relationship; Sesshomaru's beast doesn't speak; Sesshomaru does not instantly desire Kagome due to smell or any other senses; Kagome does not end up hating Sesshomaru or InuYasha at any point of the story; InuYasha does not end up mating with Shiori or Sango; Kagome does not become a yokai; Sesshomaru and Kagome cannot deal with the courts or other demon lords trying to always break them apart; and there is no mating biting mark to make someone a mate._

_I rather think I did well—of course, I suppose it helps to not have an actual mating take place in the fic. Even if I do expand it, however, I still will continue to follow this little challenge. Though now I'm going to issue said challenge to any readers here who also are writers, because I'm intrigued to see how others might take on the challenge. If you do, message me the link to the story so I can read it! _


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Sudden inspiration is a good thing, no? Not sure how long this story is going to be, but for now it's basically a collection of interlacing one-shots of varying lengths that I'll add to when I'm inspired as I am now._

_Plus, I was dared to continue. So, I did. I've gone over this four times and I'm still not sure how it turned out, but ah, well. It lays out a lot of important groundwork._

_Just a warning, but I believe in plot before romance, so don't expect instant love and fluff._

_On another note, thanks for all of the lovely reviews so far! I can't seem to stop smiling!_

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It was still surprising how well the demon lord took to traveling with Kagome.

He was generally a silent companion, but Kagome found she minded that less than she would have thought. As it was, she welcomed the silence. She had barely begin to grasp the immortality she held, but somehow the knowledge that the daiyokai was equally plagued helped soothe her. He was nearly immortal and in no rush, so why should she be?

She couldn't help but notice the differences between traveling with Sesshomau and her friends previously, either.

Unlike InuYasha, Sesshomaru had little qualms about Kagome's need to rest or bathe frequently in the past few weeks they'd traveled together. Kagome assumed it was because of his previous travels with Rin, but what surprised her more was his lack of complaints about the situation. He tolerated her human urges with a sort of disdainful look, though he kept up the polite pretense.

Unlike Shippo, he didn't reply on her, but unlike Miroku, he didn't coddle her, either. He seemed to know what she could handle and left her to deal with it accordingly, be it finding food or defeating the few lesser they came across.

And unlike Sango, he didn't pry or try to become closer with her. In fact, though they traveled together, it was almost more apropos to say they more traveled in the same general direction at relatively the same speed than they actually _traveled_ together.

And that seemed to content her for now. She would have been overwhelmed if he had tried to make any major overtures.

Sometimes, though, he asked her for questions or answers, but more often they traveled silently, content just to wander with no destination in mind. So far, they'd avoided any villages, and Kagome was sure Sesshomaru was herding her deliberately away from them. As much as she enjoyed the solitude for now, Kagome couldn't deny her own urges to help, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she begged him to take her to a village, just to make herself feel useful for a while.

She needed to be needed . . . and when Seashomaru's need to sate his curiosity died, she'd go mad without something else to take his place. This odd relationship they had between them would last only as long as they continued to meet each other's needs, and Kagome had no illusions about its permanence.

For the last few weeks, however, she'd been too lost in her own thoughts to dwell much on her future. she had no place, no role, and no purpose, and she still was no closer to remedying that then she had been when she quite literally walked out of the village that day.

For now, she lived in the now. It was all she had.

It was odd, but she didn't worry as much as she used to. Was that maturity setting in?

Sesshomaru disappeared every odd week or so for an entire day or two, and she'd stopped asking for an explanation after the second disappearance. He came and went as he pleased without a word, and she suspected he felt it was beneath him to explain himself. However, he always returned with more supplies and a fresh meal or kill for her and he always knew how to find her camp when he returned at night even when she traveled without him, so she didn't bother worrying.

She had to admit, though, that it was nice just traveling with someone with no real expectations of her other than to be herself—someone who enjoyed the quiet thinking she had begun to indulge in.

"Priestess."

Kagome blinked in surprise, spying Sesshomaru's back ahead of her as he moved his head to glance at her. His clothes and hair gently flowed along the slight breeze, and she was envious that nothing ever seemed out of place with him, even in wind or rain.

"Sorry," she apologized, figuring he was irritated that she'd stopped walking. She briskly caught up with him, but he didn't move even when she reached his side.

Her brows raised. Sesshomaru didn't seem to like it when they walked at the same pace or side-by-side, leaving her to walk ahead or behind him depending on her own mood at the time—if he didn't walk on ahead without her.

"Is something wrong?" she finally asked, shifting her weight and tucking a thick bulk of hair behind one ear when he didn't immediately answer. Normally he came right out with what he wanted to know, but sometimes he got into moods where it seemed like he thought more deeply about what he wanted to know. It was times like those that she felt the least at ease, as if she was some puzzle on a pedestal for him to study.

"This Sesshomaru wishes to know why you would abandon your friends," Sesshomaru asked, running a hand—his new one, she noted—through the strands of hair that wisped about his face. "They will die."

He didn't elaborate, but she understood what he meant. She'd told him about Kaguya, about how Kagome hadn't seemed to age, and how she'd thought that traveling through the well with the Shikon had made her immune to time. Sesshomaru hadn't said anything at the time, but she suspected he was still thinking about it.

"I miss them," she answered honestly, hearing the hoarse catch in her own throat as the tears began to roll in her eyes. "I know they will probably die before me and I want to know they're happy. But," she added slowly, "I can't stay and watch them live happily when I'm not, to see them be so happy when I feel so misplaced. I'll visit," she went on quickly, waving a hand about in case he misunderstood, "but I can't live among them for a time, even knowing they may die before me. Besides, even if I did, Sango and Miroku might understand, their kids might understand, but eventually their grandchildren or great-grandchildren would ask why I wasn't aging. It couldn't be permanent, and it would kill me each time I saw another friend die before me like that."

Not to mention that Kagome's ancestors would settle there in a few generations and construct a shrine, and that seemed too much like playing and tempting fate for her liking. There were some things better left untainted, without any meddling.

"Hnn." Sesshomaru began walking again, as if he had no concerns for her human friends.

"What about Rin?" she blurted, nearly jogging to keep pace with his long strides. "Will you visit her?"

"Hnn." Sesshomaru inclined his head slightly, but Kagome wasn't positive that he was agreeing—or disagreeing. The more she traveled with him, the more she was beginning to realize that he liked to leave his answers up to others to interpret, as if it was too much effort for him to bother explaining himself. After a long moment of silence, she realized he had no intentions of furthering the conversation after he'd gotten the answer that he wanted.

She slowed her stride, staring at his back as the wind blew his kimono sleeve away to expose his swords, and an idea came to her.

Maybe he cared for his former traveling companion, but, like Kagome, he was doomed to live on without Rin. Just as it would wound Kagome's spirit to see Kaede, Sango, Miroku, their children, and eventually InuYasha and Rin and their offspring die before Kagome, it would probably hurt the inu lord more than he would admit to see the young girl who followed him age and die.

Perhaps, Kagome realized, they had more in common than they previously thought.

Kagome wasn't entirely sure how long they traveled in silence, but instead of it being soothing like it had been previously, her mind wouldn't stop torturing her with images of her friends aging and dying while she stood there, forever young and helpless to prevent them from leaving her.

She figured the conversation was well over and done, but then the inu lord paused to glance over his shoulder at her, leaving her even more troubled and confused.

"Your problem, priestess, is that your heart is still ningen."

.

The priestess was off soaking in a nearby hot spring again.

As he had previously, Sesshomaru initially paid her no heed. She bathed so she didn't smell, and that was the only issue concerning the priestess that he would ever allow to consume him.

No matter what had happened to her due to the jewel or the kami to still her body's natural aging, her flesh and soul were still ningen, as proved by her comments the previous day. It was beneath him to ogle such a creature, nude or not.

He was not his father.

He might travel with a ningen—or rather, _former_ ningen; it was exhausting to find an appropriate label for the girl when none seemed accurate, leaving him to generally default with_ priestess_—but he would not lust for her and he would not bed her. She was just a distraction, one that he would allow until her usefulness as such ran out.

That was the only reason Sesshomaru tolerated her often less-than-respectful behavior, but such tolerance would last only as long as her mystery. He would not allow her to remain an enigma, even if it took him a century or more to puzzle her out. After all, they both had the time, and he was bored enough not to rush anything and risk losing his only entertainment in years. He hoped to get as much as he could out of the situation whilst he waited for the long memories of yokai to fade.

At the very least, it was better than the paperwork and meetings he still had to attend to every fortnight or so. He would not err the same way again, which meant that he'd have to return to his lands and holdings periodically to ensure his will was carried out appropriately. It would not do to return to another large pile of paperwork as he had after the hanyo's death.

He was, in essence, without purpose and it bored him. Rin no longer needed him with the whelp to care for her, and Jaken was a nuisance he'd rather do without at the moment. Jaken's stories were getting more and more ridiculous, and it had taken more than a kick to shut the kappa up during his last visit home. The priestess was the only person at the moment he found he could tolerate-she didn't fear or worship him, which he found he was almost grateful for.

Sesshomaru heard a loud series of splashes and he sighed. What on earth took the miko so long to get clean? Surely the simple priestess garb she wore was not more complex than his own attire to remove and dress in, and it did not take that long to use the bar of soap he had provided for her to cleanse with during his first visit home.

Did she enjoy just sitting around nude?

His eyes widened slightly at the implication. If she was entirely nude, then this might be his chance to search for the mark of the kami on her flesh. He was sure the girl would shriek and shrill if she caught him, but he cared not if she did. He would only be searching for a mark, nothing more.

It was hard to believe he hadn't thought of such an action before, but no doubt the idea of spying on a ningen had put him off. It was most definitely beneath him to ogle a ningen woman, but that was not his purpose today and he refused to feel any guilt or embarrassment over his actions. He would not leave until he finally received the answer to his question when he'd begun traveling with the priestess.

Course of action decided, he meandered over to the hot spring and stood a few feet away. He cared not if she caught him, so he didn't bother with hiding like some pathetic lesser demon. He was the great Lord of the West and he was denied nothing he desired.

When he reached the small clearing with the rocky outcrop surrounding the natural hot spring, Sesshomaru was disappointed to see the priestess sitting facing away from him as she leaned against the rocks of the hot spring. At this angle, he could see only the back of her hair, and he was irked that a mere priestess denied him, even if it was unintentional.

But he was a patient creature and he would give her the chance to correct her error, so he simply stood quietly, masking his aura so it would not overwhelm her.

Eventually, she moved to dip under the water and he nearly clenched his jaw in irritation. Did the woman enjoy denying him what he desired? First his late father's sword, then his half-brother's and the hanyo's deaths by Sesshomaru's own sword, and now her own body? Would she always be such an irritant?

Suddenly, the priestess stood, pulling her hair over one shoulder to wring it out, at the same time exposing her entire back to his perusal. There were a few minor scars on her back and shoulders, he noted, and a hint of a larger scar on her side. Her bottom was unmarred, which he found surprising given how much she tended to trip and fall, and her legs were slowly regaining the toned shape he remembered them having when she traveled all over the country in search of the hanyo.

But there was no mark, no scar, that would indicate the kami had claimed her soul and body as their own vessel. Without such a mark, it was unlikely Kaguya's story was anything more than wistful thinking.

He tightened his jaw as he glowered at the priestess' backside.

What a waste of his time. The priestess, it seemed, was truly like any other ningen after all. Except, perhaps, for a greater disposition to spin fairytales and drag others along into her game.

He turned to leave.

"Sesshomaru!" the priestess shrieked as the sounds of the priestess splashing grew louder.

So irate was he that he didn't immediately turn around until she screamed his name even louder, at a decibel that had him wincing.

He turned back with a raised eyebrow, determined not to show the priestess how much she'd affected his temperament with her lies of immortality. He was a demon lord and he would not allow an untrained priestess from a different time period have any affect at all upon his person unless he himself allowed it.

"Y-y-you pervert!" She stamped her foot, causing the water to splash around her as she glared at him, arms folded to keep most of her breasts from his perusal.

He felt both irritated at her insinuation and amused at how she seemed more concerned with yelling than covering herself up to protect her ningen modesty. He could see her legs, arms, stomach and even the curly little furred thatch that kept that part of her from being exposed to his gaze. The large scar on her side did nothing to detract from the rest of her, but he did wonder for a moment how she obtained the scar and lived, given the fact that that chunk of her flesh on her side must have been removed in the process.

"I assure you, priestess, that it is beneath this Sesshomaru to have any interest in your pathetic ningen flesh," Sesshomaru retorted. "Not that," he added, hoping to rile her as he had in the past as punishment for her previous actions, "there is anything worth noting."

Baiting her now affected her even more so than he recalled it had in the past. "You jerk!" she screeched, splashing her way from the corner of the hot spring to the side so she could directly face him. "Just you wait, Sesshomaru, because as soon as I dry off I'm going to make you wish you were dead! I'll make a rosary for you like InuYasha had, because that's what big perverts like you deserve! You're despicable!"

Her threats were useless—there was no way he'd allow her to put him in such a revolting situation—but her temper was so amusing it almost made up for his irritation at her threat. Slowly, he let his gaze travel down her body and a smirk touched his lips when she let out another shriek.

She might even be more fun to torment and rile than his half-brother.

"Perhaps you are right about not aging, priestess," he replied as his eyes drifted back up to her face, allowing his voice to drop an octave. "Your body certainly seems . . . underdeveloped for an adult ningen woman."

"Oh! Oh! You bastard! Just you wait, Sesshomaru! Oh, just you wait, because when I get through with you, you're going to beg me to put those damn beads on you!" He barely hid a bored sigh at her language; she definitely had been contaminated by his half-brother's influence. "Just you wait!" she repeated, dropping her arms to place them on her hips as she glared at him.

In response, he lowered his gaze to note the effect she no doubt assumed was intimidating just so he could inform her how ridiculous she was acting. She kept on screeching at him, but he forgot his reply and stopped any paying attention to her the minute his eyes reached her breasts.

There, nestled between her small breasts and puckered nipples, was a small jewel looking mark that could be nothing else. It looked as though it had been etched into her skin, though he'd only seen that shade of bright blue on the markings of noble yokai, and resembled the shape of a cut and shaped jewel. With each breath she drew as the mark lit up, he could feel her aura expand to such a degree that it was comparable to his own when his youki was released.

The sheer power he felt from her in that moment dwarfed anything else he'd ever felt, save for his own father's aura in Sesshomaru's youth.

As if it noticed his gaze, it flared for a moment along with the scar on her side, and then, to his utter shock, the light blue mark seemed to slip deeper under her skin and then vanish as if it was never there to begin with.

He kept staring straight at her breasts, ignoring the priestess' continual shrieks of outrage as he eyed where the mark had been.

He had seen it. He had most definitely seen the etchings of the mark that lay just under her skin and next to her heart before it had taunted him and then flickered away, and there was no mistaking what that mark was.

The priestess had been touched by the kami.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Inspiration is inspiring._

_Or something like that, anyway. Viola! Part 3! Enjoy, my dears! I'm sorry it's so short, but there's a lot of information going on here and I didn't want to overwhelm anyone!  
_

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"So, Sesshomaru, you wish to know of the priestess Kagome."

Sesshomaru didn't bother responding to Bokuseno. If the tree knew why he was there, then Sesshomaru felt no need to explain himself.

Instead, he stood in front of the tree and waited. He was already more than impatient from the time it took him to travel to the tree immediately after ditching the priestess in the hot spring, but he refused to cater to the older yokai's whims and games. He respected the old yokai, but he was not in the mood for the tree's jokes.

It had taken him long enough to get to the tree, and his patience was already tested. Bokuseno was his only hope of getting the answers he sought, given that the girl was too busy shrieking and hurling her own clothing at him to be of any use to him.

Obviously the priestess had been stunned out of her full facilities, given that she assumed that one such as he would even be remotely interested in ogling her the way she'd accused of doing.

No, Bokuseno was his best chance of immediate answers, so Sesshomaru had instantly flown away from the hot spring as soon as he realized the girl was going to be uncooperative.

He would have his answers, and he would have them when_ he_ desired them, not when the girl bothered to give them.

Bokuseno sighed after another long moment of silence. "You are correct, Sesshomaru. The girl has indeed been marked by the kami, and she is indeed no longer what you might consider human." Bokuseno shifted his branches with a creak. "It is safe to assume that even she is not fully aware of what that entails or what power she holds."

"Go on." Sesshomaru's reply was short, designed to prod the tree into giving him the information he sought. He was well aware what it meant to be touched by the kami; his purpose in coming to the tree was not merely to confirm his own observation, but to discover just how far the mystery of the priestess and her powers went.

He wanted to know more of the priestess' abilities and why she was chosen.

"There has not been one marked by the kami in over a thousand years," Bokuseno continued. "Even Midoriko, favored as she was by the gods, was not given the honor Kagome has been given-for reasons that are not fully understood with the jewel's disappearance—and she has been altered further by the shikon. Even I am not fully aware of what Kagome is capable of. She is human, but she is not. She is a priestess, but she is not. She has been more than just marked."

"Explain."

"Her power is her own. It is not borrowed or loaned. It is as innate to her as your power is to you. You felt the power surge when Magatsuhi's seal was broken, did you not, Sesshomaru? That was merely the burst of the seal itself, not her own powers. Though she has not used her powers to such a scale since, do not think her less powerful. It is possible that her own power could rival even yours, Sesshomaru."

"It would not be possible for me to lose to the priestess." Sesshomaru straightened further, confident in his power.

No matter what the old yokai said or the details he'd learned of the girl so far, she simply was not powerful enough to defeat him. He'd found and secured his own power and he was in his prime.

"Perhaps," Bokuseno allowed. "But you must also remember, Sesshomaru, that her body once encased the jewel, and that which is housed within cannot be stronger than what houses it. The container must always be stronger than what is contained."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened as the words settled in.

The girl was more powerful than the jewel?

The shikon had the ability to take and restore life, to bring about new life—even to strengthen and call to demons.

If the girl was more powerful than the jewel, then it stood to reason that she had the potentiality to do all the jewel had . . . and more.

And that was notwithstanding the kami's blessings.

Had the girl been created, then, to take the place of the jewel? Or was her purpose designed for something far beyond that of what the jewel had been? Why had the kami chosen to bless his half-brother's wench of all humans?

"You were looking for excitement and power, Sesshomaru, to keep you from boredom. It would seem that you have found something worth entertaining you," Bokuseno noted with a smile. "She is the puzzle and entertainment you sought."

Sesshomaru inclined his head in appreciation for the answers he had been given as he prepared to leave Bokuseno's clearing. It seemed that he had much to think about—and clearly more than he anticipated, for it seemed that nothing about the priestess was as simple as he'd first assumed upon meeting her.

It was Bokuseno's last words as Sesshomaru walked away, however, that gave him the most to think about.

"Perhaps Kagome shall be even more than she is now, Sesshomaru, for it is true what you thought about mating her."

.

Sesshomaru was obviously a coward.

Only a coward would avoid Kagome for nearly three days—she was sure it was because he just _knew_ she was plotting her revenge after he saw her naked and then just stared—and ooh, was he going to regret doing so, too!

Kagome had every intention of giving him a piece of her mind just as soon as she found him, not matter how long it took.

As soon as she'd thrown her clothes on, she'd stalked after the direction Sesshomaru had fled in his ball of light. It was obvious the daiyokai knew he was in the wrong—why else, after all, would he have just run off like that as if his tail was tucked between his legs—and he was damn well going to pay for doing so, too.

A flash of white whipped about in the trees ahead of her, and Kagome tensed, ready for confrontation. After three days and countless irritation, she was ready to bring Sesshomaru to his knees.

The white cloth fluttered ahead just moments before she reached the patch of trees she'd spotted it in and moved just out of eyesight as she growled.

Oh, she almost _wished_ she hadn't shattered InuYasha's prayer beads, because she definitely liked the idea of tuning them to Sesshomaru instead of InuYasha.

Only instead of _sit_, she'd use the word _stay_, because clearly the damn yokai lacked the ability to stay in one place.

"Sesshomaru, you better stay _right there_ or so help me, I swear I will—"

She cut herself off with a groan when she noted exactly who was in the clearing . . . and who was not.

"Wench! Do not shout the name of the great and mighty Lord Sesshomaru like that! You will address Lord Sesshomaru with his proper titles, you inbred, ignorant wench!" Jaken shrilled, waving about his staff as his white haori blew about in the wind.

Evidently, Jaken had taken to dressing like Sesshomaru since the last time she'd seen him—he'd even had his lord's crest patterned onto the white cloth.

Kagome wondered idly if Sesshomaru even knew that his retainer was mimicking the lord to such a degree. She'd always had the impression that Sesshomaru's clothing was a sign of his house and status, and somehow she just couldn't see him allowing the kappa to run around with Sesshomaru's royal lineage embroidered there in bright purple across his haori.

At least the kappa wasn't attempting to grow his hair out or dye it silver.

"You will not desecrate my great lord's name with your foul mouth!" Jaken continued, rushing forward to wave his staff right in her face.

Kagome's eye twitched and she felt the small amount of control she had left over her temper evaporate as she batted the staff away. "Well, maybe I'd show your so-called great lord more respect if he didn't act like such a pervert!"

"You have clearly lost your mind, wench! My noble Lord Sesshomaru would never waste his time ogling a puny human girl!" Jaken's face swelled with rage, turning a bright red as he stomped one foot on the ground.

"Your 'noble' Lord Sesshomaru is nothing more than a big, fat pervert who has no shame staring at unwilling women!" Kagome was equally irate, and felt even more wronged when the kappa refused to believe her.

She wasn't surprised when he refused to let his belief in his lord be shaken, but Kagome was used to having at least someone agree with her—namely Sango, Shippo, and Miroku—and she was frustrated that she lacked that support now.

She inhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. She'd have to get used to no one being by her side—after all, Miroku and Sango would only live so long, and Sesshomaru had already let the information out that InuYasha had most likely halved his own life when he'd mated Rin and extended hers.

Kagome was on her own, like it or not.

"Lord Sesshomaru is a great and mighty demon!" the kappa continued on with his rant. "He would never sink so low!"

Kagome huffed and bit back her own retort. Jaken was never going to believe her, so she wasn't going to waste her time arguing. Instead, she stalked out of the forest clearing and continued along the forest floor without another word.

"Wait! Wench! You will tell me where my lord went!" Jaken hollered after her. "I have important information to give to my lord!"

"I'll tell you when I find him," she said shortly.

"You dare to insinuate that you are worthy of seeking my lord?" Jaken shrilled out.

Kagome opened her mouth to retort, but her temper fizzled out the minute the kappa tripped and fell to the ground, causing several deep gashes to his face. She walked back and knelt down next to him as Jaken waved his staff about to fend her off. "Are you okay, Jaken?" she asked. "I can bandage that up for you, if you want."

Jaken huffed, but he stopped fidgeting. "I can heal fine on my own! My lord would not choose a weak retainer!" he protested loudly, but he held still and allowed her to treat him with a few herbs she'd picked out of habit earlier that day.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, pulling back as soon as she was done and straightening.

"Of course I am, wench! I am a mighty kappa!" His chest puffed out with pride, and she was torn between amusement and annoyance. "Now just point me in the way of my lord, wench, and I'll be on my way."

"I told you, I don't . . . Never mind. You can come along if you want, Jaken. I'm searching for him as well," she said with a sigh at his crestfallen expression. As annoying as the kappa was, her chances of finding Sesshomaru and getting some answers out of him concerning his recent behavior would probably go up if he knew Jaken was following her with an important message.

Jaken immediately fell in line behind her, muttering to himself about how great a servant he was to his lord to suffer through accompanying a lowly human wench just to find his lord.

Kagome groaned to herself. First Sesshomaru ogled her and now his retainer was trailing along after her . . . could her life be any more absurd?


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Sorry, guys. I managed to contract bronchitis and was in bed the past few days (weeks?) trying not to die or something. It was horrid. Plus I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so that's fun, too. Loooads. _

_Anywho, here's part 4. Enjoy!_

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Kagome was furious, irate, and on the warpath.

Sesshomaru was a dead man.

He'd basically promised to travel with Kagome indefinitely, and Kagome wanted the damn man to honor his promise. He'd claimed to be an honorable yokai, and Kagome intended to make him live up to that whether he wanted to or not.

Okay, so he hadn't exactly promised, but Kagome was going to hold him to the implied bargain they'd made at the beginnings of their travels if it killed her.

He'd stated that they would be companions, and, well, Kagome was lonely and bored and she wanted the peeping tom of a demon back, even if it meant she had to be more zealous in her bathing routine.

At first, anger had drove her to search for him, but on the fifth day she'd heard a cry of alarm and rushed away from her current stalking of a certain inuyokai. She found several wounded villagers trying to fight off a spider yokai, and between Kagome's desire to help and her immense dislike of anything remotely spider-like after dealing with Naraku, she hadn't been able to stop herself from rushing straight in to help, dragging Jaken right along after her.

From that fight, Kagome had found herself dealing with crisis after crisis, and the days had flown by as she finally had the chance to fulfill her purpose as a priestess and help those in need.

Nearly two weeks in, however, and Kagome hadn't found the sense of fulfillment she'd initially thought she had. She liked helping the villagers, and she liked feeling needed, but it wasn't enough to satisfy her. Oddly enough, she'd felt more content traveling with Sesshomaru than she did helping out villagers who obviously needed her help.

Initially, she assumed it was because she and Sesshomaru had unfinished business, but after those two weeks, she realized she was lonely. Even a smartass, pervert demon was better than silence—or Jaken's incessant ranting—and besides, she'd dealt with a pervert before, so it was nothing new, really.

With that in mind, she returned to stalking Sesshomaru, but instead of him deliberately ignoring her, it now seemed like he was deliberately toying with her, leading her somewhere far from the nearby villages she'd been aiding.

Sixteen days. For sixteen days the demon had avoided her and left her to deal with the petulant whining of Jaken—and there was no doubt he was intentionally doing it, either. She'd felt his aura and youki as he traveled, and just as soon as she nearly reached its source it dissipated and disappeared, leaving only a mocking trace left behind.

She glowered at the stream. She still hadn't figured out the perfect revenge for the demon, because every time she decided on an idea, she thought of a better one. She could scream in his ear, get his hair all tangled and cut up, dye his clothes pink somehow, sic Jaken on him, blast him with holy powers . . .

Okay, so they were all really petty ideas, but given how petty Sesshomaru had acted, she felt almost justified in doing one of them.

Almost, anyway.

"Kagome! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Kagome blinked at the rough voice just before a familiar wisp of smoke blew around the river she and Jaken had been resting beside. Water splashed and flopped over the bank as the smoke whirled around the center of the water. Kagome instantly felt the aura of a kitsune—a familiar one, in fact—but the aura had matured greatly, as had the voice, almost as if it had been more than a few years since Kagome had last seen him.

In fact, it seemed as if full-blown puberty had set in, though Shippo seemed too young for that to be occurring just yet.

Unless demons aged differently?

"Shippo?" she called out to the smoke, waving her hands around her face to keep from breathing the smoke in.

"Kagome!" the smoke screamed at her again before a hard body impacted her, nearly knocking her to the ground as arms wrapped themselves around her neck.

She staggered, barely catching the other person as she glanced down to see the familiar red hair and green eyes of Shippo. His hair was longer, pulled up into a high ponytail instead of poufing out as it once had, and his wide eyes seemed slightly more narrowed, but it was the same face she remembered.

"Shippo! It's you!" She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as she squealed.

"Duh, Kagome. Who else would it be?" Shippo rolled his eyes at her in a way that reminded her exactly of Souta. "Uh, Kagome? Do you mind letting me go? I need to breathe."

"How'd you find me?" She reluctantly dropped her arms, and to her surprise Shippo pulled back, his eyes nearly meeting her own. "Shippo, you're so big now! And you look so mature!" He was nearly taller than Kohaku had grown last time she'd seem him.

"I'm growing into my magic training at the kitsune school, so my body's trying to catch up. I'm a rank 18 now, you know! I came by to tell you at Kaede's village, but stupid InuYasha told me you got kidnapped by his brother, so I came to free you!" Shippo replied, puffing out his chest in pride. "But I don't see Sesshomaru anywhere, which sucks because I had all kinds of new tricks to use on him."

Kagome hid a giggle at how instantly Shippo deflated at losing his new target. "That's because Sesshomaru's a coward," she announced.

"My great and fierce Lord Sesshomaru is no such thing, wench!" Jaken immediately interrupted, stomping over as he waved around his staff. "He is so terrible he makes great demons quake with fear before he devours them for lunch!"

Kagome scrunched up her nose at the thought of Sesshomaru eating a demon like Mistress Centipede or Yura of the Hair. "Eww, that's really gross."

"You miserable human," Jaken crowed. "You cannot understand the delicacies of the mighty Lord Sesshomaru's diet! In fact, just three weeks ago the fearsome Lord Sesshomaru devoured a mighty boar yokai in just one bite! And before that, the powerful Lord Sesshomaru bit an entire army of bird demons right in half!"

"Does he ever stop?" Shippo whispered in her ear as Jaken continued his tirade.

Kagome just sighed.

When she wished to have something more interesting in her life, this wasn't exactly what she'd meant. Perhaps that was why Grandpa was always telling her to think before she wished, because the kami liked to grant wishes for the foolish just to teach them a lesson.

Well, maybe he'd said something about the shikon jewel granting it. She couldn't really remember, but then, it didn't really matter because the jewel was gone, anyway.

So wish-granting kami it was.

.

Sesshomaru reluctantly admitted that he was somewhat impressed with the priestess' tracking abilities, as well as her tenacity.

The priestess had no ability whatsoever to track him through traditional means, such as trailing or the like, but she had seized onto his personal youki signature and refused to let go with a tenaciousness that frankly surprised him. No matter how he tried to mask it the past fortnight, she had continued to find enough traces of it to continue stalking him.

He was unaccustomed to feeling like prey, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the situation. He couldn't resist teasing her, leaving strands of loose hair or fabric behind right as she nearly caught him, just to taunt her.

Now, however, the priestess had abruptly made camp by a river not far from his present location, and hadn't budged for the rest of the afternoon, ruining his fun.

How could he torment a stalker if she no longer stalked him?

He'd backtracked slowly to see what had caused Kagome to stop for the day when she typically stopped only just before dusk. He thought, perhaps, that she'd run her mouth again and get some other demon all riled up and ready to fight her, or that she'd somehow yet again trip and injure herself, but to his irritation she was sitting quite happily by the river bed talking with a kitsune that looked oddly familiar somehow . . . along with Jaken.

Sesshomaru leaned against one of the trees just beyond the riverbed with a sigh. It was entertaining to have Kagome stalk him, but he had no interest in the other two. Jaken was a nuisance he could quite contentedly do without at the moment, especially given the immense amount of paperwork Jaken had left for him last time Sesshomaru had returned to the castle. Sesshomaru resisted the uncharacteristic urge to groan when he noted the kappa's new attire—was he supposed to be flattered that the kappa had somehow managed to replicate Sesshomaru's wardrobe?

And the other, the kitsune, Sesshomaru had little interest in, familiar or not. The kitsune appeared to be somewhere between an adolescent and a preadolescent, and his loud volume Sesshomaru found to be quite grating. The kitsune dressed akin to the boy Kohaku Rin had once favored when he dressed outside of his slayer attire, but he lacked the silence and mature air that had made Kohaku tolerable.

No, this would not do.

He needed to somehow get rid of both his absurd retainer and the kitsune so he could continue toying with and unraveling the mystery of the girl who had somehow ended up getting herself touched by the kami. He had much to ask her and his own tests he wanted to perform to ensure the validity of what Bokuseno had shared, as well as his own suspicions.

He did not want to deal with pesky nuisances while he did so. The priestess herself was enough of a nuisance without the help of her companions.

Jaken glanced in the direction of Sesshomaru's tree and Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed in warning. If the kappa was acute enough to sense him, he was intelligent enough to know that giving away his presence now would be a death wish.

The kappa quickly glanced away after a moment and Sesshomaru smirked slightly in satisfaction.

He would rather enjoy forcing Jaken and the kitsune away from the priestess—after all, it was doubtful it'd be a hard feat to accomplish.

He sat down by the tree and closed his eyes as he heard the girl and her companions play in the water. He just needed to come up with the perfect plan . . .


End file.
